Is it ok to hold off on meds for strep

sarahmalka

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 5:14 pm

I don't use antibiotics or me or my family except for strep throat and Lyme disease. Just like ra-mom said, use probiotics preemptively. Dosing strategy for the antibiotics usually allows for giving probiotics between the antibiotic doses. (I.e., amoxicillin is given twice a day only, allowing for plenty of time to give probiotics between doses).

MrsDash

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 6:45 pm

amother wrote:

You took a strep culture that came out positive and than did not take antibiotics? Or you assume that you had an untreated strep? Please explain.

I got a positive strep test, my mother filled the antibiotics, but I never took the meds because I didn't *feel* like it. Like I said, I was a teenager, and I obviously knew everything, and what was best for me, duh. Rolling Laughter

amother

Ginger

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 7:02 pm

amother wrote:

But - if someone's tonsils are removed can they still develop rheumatic fever?

I seem to remember that a newborn was exposed to strep and the pediatrician wasn't concerned because the tonsils aren't developed and therefore the baby can't get rheumatic fever that develops from strep?

Is that correct?

Correct. Rheumatic fever is not a concern with strep under the age of 2. Sometimes doctors will test for strep in babies if their siblings are having recurring strep and they think the baby may be the cause, or if the child's symptoms are making him miserable. Otherwise, they'll treat it as a viral illness which the body will fight.

amother

Burlywood

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 7:36 pm

amother wrote:

That is interesting. I got my tonsils out as a kid and I have strep now together with my child. So I am not able to get rheumatic fever?

amother

Burlywood

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 7:40 pm

MrsDash wrote:

Sorry for making you crazy. I really would like to understand this. Can you detail the progression of the strep and the heart murmur and how it affects you today.

amother

Ginger

Sun, Apr 30 2017, 8:02 pm

amother wrote:

That is interesting. I got my tonsils out as a kid and I have strep now together with my child. So I am not able to get rheumatic fever?

Sorry. I see my previous response was unclear. I was responding to strep in infants and that rheumatic fever is not a concern for children under the age of 2.

Babies do have tonsils. Regarding yourself, you can get strep without tonsils but it is much less likely.

MrsDash

Mon, May 01 2017, 12:54 am

amother wrote:

Sorry for making you crazy. I really would like to understand this. Can you detail the progression of the strep and the heart murmur and how it affects you today.

I just felt kind of crummy for a while, but the antibiotics were hard on my stomach, so I stopped after the first dose. While getting a check up a few months later, the doctor heard a murmur. Went to a cardiologist for some further testing and discovered I had MVP.

Just wanted to point out that this was the same doctor I went to when I had strep and there wasn't a murmur. (He was my PCP for a while prior to that appointment, and never heard a murmur.)

I take antibiotics for dental procedures. I get flutters sometimes when doing strenuous exercises, but it didn't stop me from running a marathon!

salt

Mon, May 01 2017, 1:04 am

MrsDash wrote:

A heart murmur could be from birth as well. If I'm not mistaken it's called a functional heart murmur and sometimes it's very hard to hear. My son has it, and it is harmless. Only one doctor I know can hear it in him. Other doctors don't even hear it. It could be that you had it since you were born, and that it wasn't a result of the untreated strep, and the doctor only heard it second time he checked you.

But treat strep!

MrsDash

Mon, May 01 2017, 1:04 am

In regards to the claims that getting your tonsils removed will decrease your chances of developing strep, that is not entirely accurate.

I was one of the lucky "few" who continued to get strep all the time until adulthood (another 15 years or so!). I haven't had it since (Don't want to out my age, but let's just say it's been over a decade...). My kids and husband get strep a few times a year and while I care for them, getting coughed on, vomited on, breathed on, I never get it.

Last edited by MrsDash on Mon, May 01 2017, 1:09 am; edited 1 time in total

MrsDash

Mon, May 01 2017, 1:08 am

salt wrote:

The cardiologist stated that I wasn't born with it. I guess there's some way to detect with the testing whether or not it's a generic condition. (I had been to amazing doctors most of my life by then, and there was never a murmur.)